


you shine through the night (and you tear me apart)

by lxvenxtes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, Angst, Childhood Trauma, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, Found Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Love at First Sight, M/M, Minor Violence, basically the angsty nahyuck xmen fic no asked for but me, i have no idea how to tag this, oh yeah baby, there is a lovestory here... under all the angst, uhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lxvenxtes/pseuds/lxvenxtes
Summary: “Kid,” Jaehyun gasped for breath, “we don’t want to hurt you.” Jaemin scoffed.“Then why did you chase me?”“You ran away!” Doyoung cried. Jaemin glared at him. “Look, we’re not the government or whatever you think. We work at this school for kids with abilities like you.”-or Jaemin has superpowers, and a shitty life, which he expects to stay shitty for the rest of eternity. Until he ends up a school for "gifted kids" and meets a golden, angel of a boy. Then things start to look up.





	you shine through the night (and you tear me apart)

**Author's Note:**

> howdy! hope y'all enjoy this! i love superpowers and nct and decided to mash them together into this monstrosity! and mandy this is for u my bb!
> 
> some warnings: this fic will deal with some heavy stuff like child abuse and child abandonment and shitty things of that nature but none of it will be graphic and if it is i'll update the warnings! if i have things untagged that u think should be tagged as this fic gets longer pls let me known and i'll do that! 
> 
> also this is very loosely based on xmen i have very little knowledge of it lol

Jaemin was walking home from his weekly grocery trip, arms burning from the weight of the bags, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He was used to the usual hum of his paranoid thoughts, flying in the back of his brain. But this felt different.

The feeling had started when he woke up. His alarm went off at seven per usual and he had the familiar tug in his gut to run. The now routine itch in his legs to flee. The threat, whatever it was, wasn’t visible, but his body was already reacting to it. After he convinced himself he was freaking out over nothing, he got ready and went to the store. Then he saw a car he had never seen before sitting at the end of the street, which only filled him with more dread. He didn’t think he’d be found so quickly.

"Hey! Na Jaemin!" an unfamiliar voice called, interrupting his thoughts. Jaemin turned and saw two men in suits walking towards him. Oh fuck.

He froze as they approached him, paralyzed with fear. They were both tall, and lean, meaning they would probably be well matched in a fight against him. One of them had dark blue hair, the other a soft lavender, and he had the fleeting thought that the government was surprisingly lenient about appearances. The men stopped in front of him, close enough to stop him if he tried to make a run for it, but far enough to still seem casual.

"Hi, Jaemin!" the purple haired man cried, grinning like they were old friends. Jaemin blinked, unable to think of a response. His heart was ricocheting in his chest like a tennis ball being thrown against a wall. The blue haired man frowned, noticing the pinched expression his face had taken.

“Jaehyun, he’s scared. Introduce yourself or something first,” he said, turning to Purple Hair with a scowl, like Jaemin wasn't even there. Purple Hair looked embarrassed as he smiled sheepishly at Jaemin, and rubbed the back of his neck. What the hell was going on?

“I’m Jaehyun, and this is Doyoung,” Purple Hair introduced, pointing between himself and Blue Hair. He placed his hand on Jaemin’s shoulder, his grip just a bit too tight to be friendly.

Before he could even think about the consequences, Jaemin was sending a stream of fire up his arm. It started at his palm, melting through the plastic bag he was holding, sending his groceries tumbling into the street, before swallowing up his fingers. The putrid smell of burning plastic filled the air, along with smoke, and Jaemin distantly heard one of his cans burst under the sudden fire, but ignored that in favor of sending his flames higher. The orange yellow heat danced up his coat sleeve to his shoulder, burning Jaehyun mercilessly. He yanked his hand away with a hiss.

"Oh shit! When they said you had fire powers I thought they meant like little flames on your fingers or something. Not that you can engulf yourself in flames!" he cried. He was clutching his now pink hand in pain, and he looked close to tears. Jaemin was filled with a sick sense of satisfaction. Then he was hit with a wave of nausea as he realized how familiar the scene was.

He was soon distracted by Doyoung pulling him into a very aggressive back hug. He choked as his flames were extinguished. His other bag of groceries fell to the ground with a noisy clatter. A can of pre sliced peaches rolled past his foot and off of the curb.

“What the fuck?” he cried, struggling to get out of the hold. Doyoung was stronger than he looked. Thankfully, Jaemin had the element of surprise on his hands. He jammed his elbow into Doyoung’s ribs as hard as he could with his limited mobility, before stomping on his foot. As the man recoiled from his blows, he pushed him to the ground and ran up the street. His body hummed with the feeling that it had known this was coming. It was like hugging an old friend.

“Jaehyun! Stop standing there and get him!” Doyoung wheezed as Jaemin turned a corner.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, weaving through the beginnings of the early morning commuters, ignoring their startled cries. He heard similar cries behind him, and knew Jaehyun was close by. He turned a corner and realized too late that he’d ended up in an alley. A dead end. He was screwed.

He heard footsteps coming up behind him, and raised his fists. If he couldn’t run away, he could definitely fight his way out.

Jaehyun walked into the alley and stopped at the end, his hands on his knees as he panted. Doyoung quickly followed him, and Jaemin’s still pounding heart jumped to his throat.

“Kid,” Jaehyun gasped for breath, “we don’t want to hurt you.” Jaemin scoffed.

“Then why did you chase me?”

“You ran away!” Doyoung cried. He sounded shocked that Jaemin would even ask. Almost like an exasperated parent. Jaemin glared at him. “Look, we’re not the government or whatever you think. We work at this school for kids with abilities like you.”

“That sounds too convenient. For all I know, this “school” could be some lab or something,” Jaemin shot back, stepping back as the pair walked towards him. They didn’t look very threatening anymore, sweaty and out of breath from the chase, but looks could be very deceiving.

A soft grunt left Jaemin’s lips as his back hit the wall. The pair was standing at an arms length away now and his heart was thundering in his ears. Eyes darting in every direction, he looked for a way out. Why couldn’t have been blessed with teleportation powers?

“I guess you’d just have to trust us,” Jaehyun said, smiling hopefully, dimples now apparent. If Jaemin wasn’t ready to kick his ass, he’d say the guy was kinda hot.

“Yeah, I don’t see that happening any time soon.” He pushed off the wall, shoving through them and ran to the end of the alley again. He was about to turn the corner, when he was tackled to the ground, slamming his head into the pavement. Everything started to swim around him and he let out a pathetic pained groan.

The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was Jaehyun saying, “Oh my god. I’m really, really sorry. Doyoung, I think I knocked him out. Oh god.”

-

Jaemin woke up a car. His head was throbbing and there was something holding both his arms down. Blinking slowly as his eyes adjusted to the light, Jaemin realized three things very quickly. 

One, Jaehyun was driving the car, which was probably the same car he had seen outside of the grocery store. Two, Doyoung was holding his arms at his side. Three, he couldn’t use his powers.

“Oh! Doie, he’s awake!” Jaehyun exclaimed after looking back at him through the rear view mirror. Jaemin sent him a glare, and he averted his eyes to look back at the road. He looked embarrassed, his cheeks pink.

“I noticed Jaehyun, I’m literally holding him. And don’t call me that while we’re on the job,” Doyoung grumbled, and Jaemin could imagine him rolling his eyes, even though he couldn’t see his face.

“Will you explain what’s going on? Where are you taking me?” he asked, shifting in Doyoung’s hold. His grip didn’t budge and Jaemin scowled.

“We were trying to explain before you ran away,” Doyoung paused, and sounding unhappy he added, “again.”

“You cornered me in an alley!” Jaemin argued. Jaehyun hummed in agreement, as if it say, "Yeah, we did do that".

“Sorry, about uh, tackling you. Is your head okay?” he asked, meeting Jaemin’s eyes in the mirror again.

“No, it hurts really bad. Now, explain,” he demanded and Doyoung scoffed in his ear.

“You’re bossy. And we already told you. We work at a school for kids with powers. It’s kinda like a training center place. We help kids learn to control their abilities and give them a home,” Jaehyun explained. Jaemin frowned as something akin to hope filled his chest. The whole thing was probably a lie, to get him to let his guard down so he could be tested on, but he couldn’t help but wonder.

It had been so long since he’d been to a school, since he’d been around people his own age. His fight with Doyoung and Jaehyun had been the most physical contact he’d felt in months. He’d been alone for almost a year now, it’d be so nice not to be.

Instead of replying, he looked out the window, trying not to get lost in his wistful daydreams by focusing on the beige blur of buildings turning into the bright green blur of trees.

-

The building they pulled up in front of didn’t look like any schools Jaemin had ever seen before. But it also didn’t look like the dull, gray government facilities he pictured in his nightmares either.

It was a huge, five story building that looked more like a rich family's mansion than anything academic. It was made of some kind of jagged stone, painted a warm brown, with massive stained glass windows that wouldn’t have been out of place in a church. Jaemin could pick out a picture of a guy with glowing red eyes. Maybe the place was actually a cover up for a cult that worshiped mutants or something.

Jaehyun led the way through the entrance and Jaemin followed him through the giant, grandiose doors, and stopped just a few feet in. Doyoung huffed from behind him, where he was still holding his arms, but didn't do anything to make him move.

The inside was just as big as the outside. It almost felt bigger. There were two enormous, polished spiral staircases, that looked like something out of a rich mom’s wet dream. The room was bathed in sunlight from even more giant windows, and everything seemed to glitter. Looking around, Jaemin saw three rooms connected and what had to be a hundred pictures framed along the walls.

In the middle of the stairs was a massive fireplace with a stone lion sitting directly in the middle of it. Whoever owned this place had to be loaded. 

His eyes drifted up to the ceiling, and the world stopped turning.

There was a boy who looked human in every way, except for the extravagant, golden wings he was using to glide through the air. He glistened in the sun as he flew back and forth from one staircase to another. His arms were spread out in an almost crucifixion like pose and his eyes were closed as if he couldn’t have been more relaxed. His brown hair was hanging off his forehead, and his skin shone as the sun hit it, as if he was a prism held up to light. It was like watching a living, breathing Renaissance painting. He was the most beautiful thing Jaemin had ever seen.

The tranquil scene was interrupted by a bright orange Nerf dart flying up and hitting the boy square between his closed eyes. He yelped in surprise and fell to the ground. Jaemin briefly thought of Icarus as the boy fell at his feet. He didn’t seem to notice Jaemin as he got up, wings curling back like a resting bird's and pushing up the soft looking sleeves of his yellow sweater. He looked over, his brown eyes glaring, and Jaemin saw a boy across the room holding the Nerf gun and laughing. He had chestnut brown hair that was falling into his eyes that were curled into crescents as he shook with laughter.

“Jeno, I’m gonna kill you,” the winged boy shouted, getting up presumably to chase after him.

“Boys!” a voice called and everyone looked over to see a man walking in. He probably had the best eyebrows Jaemin had ever seen, and his presence seemed familiar. “Why don’t you guys go to your rooms, so I can talk to our guest?” he asked, though it was obvious it wasn’t a suggestion. His voice was firm but kind. The boys glanced in Jaemin’s directions and Winged Boy’s eyes shone with curiosity. They quickly ran up the stairs without another word but Winged Boy glanced back once he was at the top, making eye contact with Jaemin and smiling, before walking away.

“Doyoung, let go of him, please,” Eyebrow Man commanded and Jaemin’s arms were finally free. Out of the corner of his eye Jaemin saw Jaehyun step closer to Doyoung and place his hand on his back.

“Jaemin,” Eyebrow Man called, and Jaemin couldn’t shake the feeling that he recognized him. Like he knew him from somewhere. “Come with me. We have a lot to talk about.”

Against his better judgement, Jaemin found himself following behind.

-

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but first I’d like to apologize for Doyoung and Jaehyun’s actions. The way they behaved was very inappropriate,” Eyebrow Man said as Jaemin sat in a chair across from his desk, eyes scanning the room. The desk was a definite power move, to show Jaemin who was in charge. It was working.

Jaemin didn’t respond to the apology, too busy scanning the office they were. The office was just as over the top as the rest of the building. It was painted a pale yellow that was probably supposed to be comforting, or cheery so people weren't intimidated. There were even more pictures and an excessive amount of plants on the windowsill beside them. He looked over Eyebrow Man’s shoulder and felt his body freeze against his will. There was a picture that Jaemin knew like the back of his hand. Only his version of the picture had been a poster, that hung in his childhood bedroom, staring down at him every night from age seven to fourteen.

He squinted in recognition, trying to figure out why Eyebrow Man had it framed in his office. Then it hit him.

“Holy shit. You’re Suho,” he exclaimed, unable to keep the childlike glee from seeping into his tone. Eyebrow Man-Suho, his brain interrupted-chuckled and nodded.

“That was my name, yes. Now I go by my birth name, Junmyeon, though. Pleasure to meet you,” he said, smiling. Jaemin was thrown back in time to being nine years old and watching him and the other heroes in EXO on the news, refusing thanks for saving Seoul again because it was their job.

“Why am I here? To be a hero or something?” Jaemin asked, body filling with an excited wonder he didn’t know he still possessed. Suho-Junmyeon?-smiled again. It was a kind smile, not patronizing like most adults Jaemin had met.

“Yes and no,” he started and Jaemin knew his face must’ve scrunched up in confusion, because Junmyeon laughed again. “This school is here to teach young people how to control their special abilities and provide a safe environment for them. It’s up to them what they do with what we teach here. Whether that means being a hero, or just living a simple day to day to life.”

“And you want to help me?” Jaemin asked, still in a state of disbelief. His childhood hero had scooped him up from his shitty hideaway and wanted to teach him. It was hard to wrap his head around.

“Of course. We’ve been keeping an eye on you for awhile, which is creepy, I know, but I think you could really benefit from staying here. But that’s just my opinion. You’re welcome to say no, or leave whenever you choose. You won’t be a prisoner here, if you decide to stay,” Junmyeon explained, eyes shining with hope and excitement. Jaemin knew some part of him should’ve still been skeptical, but he was tired of being scared and paranoid. He wanted to learn, to better himself. He wanted more out of life than sitting alone in his abandoned apartment building, watching cable TV every night. He wanted this.

“Do I gotta, like, sign a form or something?” he asked, earning a grin and another laugh from Junmyeon. For the first time in a long while, he found himself smiling along.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed whatever that was!
> 
> cc: yoongistungun  
twt: gayhyckie


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